West Carrollton Deputy Police Chief Doug Woodard said Saturday's illegal gambling raids on two Fraternal Order of the Orioles sites, one in West Carrollton and one in Medway, and at the Clayton residence of the operator of both clubs, was directed by West Carrollton police with the help of a conglomeration of other law enforcement agencies.

"Our detectives were the lead agency," Woodard said. At about 1:30 p.m. Saturday, March 1, officers from the Tactical Crime Suppression Unit (Germantown, Kettering, Centerville, Moraine, Miamisburg, Oakwood, Springboro and West Carrollton), Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, Clark County Sheriff's Office, Perry, Clay and German Twp. Police Departments, and the Ohio Attorney Generals Office "simultaneously conducted five search warrants," four in Montgomery County and one in Clark County," Woodard said.

The warrants were the culmination of a six-month investigation into illegal gambling, racketeering, money laundering, and federal income tax violations throughout southwest Ohio, he said.

No arrests were made, but "it is anticipated that several subjects will be charged," he said. The charges will be up to the assistant U.S. Attorney General and the IRS, he said.

Woodard said search warrants were issued for three locations: the Fraternal Order of the Orioles in the 800 block of Watertower Lane in West Carrollton; the Fraternal Order of the Orioles at 10955 Lower Valley Pike, Medway, in Clark County; and the home of the operator of the two facilities at 6470 Wellbaum Ave., Clayton. He was just pulling up to his home when officers arrived and he cooperated with them, Woodard said. Evidence relating to the illegal gambling operations was gathered from the home, he said.

A variety of illegal gambling paraphernalia was confiscated from the clubs, including gaming tables, cards and chips, Woodard said. He said the operations appeared to involve mostly high stakes card games. About 75 patrons, "young, old, male, female," were interviewed at the West Carrollton club and about a half dozen patrons at the Medway club, he said. Two of the five search warrants were for the club operator's vehicles, he said.